PESHAWAR
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Higher Education Kamran Khan Bangash Thursday said that the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has launched an Rs.1.4 billion market-oriented ‘Accelerated Skills Development Program (ASDP) to boost employment opportunities for tribal youth.
He said this while addressing a Seminar on role of Academia in Peace Building and National Integration was held in Peshawar Services Club here. Besides him, the Seminar was also attended by Senior Civil and Military Officials including Secretaries, Vice Chancellors of different Universities and leading academicians.
Seminar was focused on appraisal on FATA Merger, Provincial Task Force Review Sessions on FATA and schedule of AIP-II. Kamran Bangash emphasis on role of Education in counter violence extremism, establishment of center of excellence on CTR violent extremism and skill development program for Youth.
The provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has already launched an Rs.1.4 billion market-oriented ‘Accelerated Skills Development Program (ASDP) to boost employment opportunities for tribal youth. It is one the largest schemes of the province aimed at increasing the employment rate in newly merged districts.
The program has been designed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and is being funded by the United States Agency for International Aid (USAID), he added. Under the initiative, 5,500 men, women, and transgender persons (18-35 years) will be imparted free technical skills, he said, adding, they will also be connected to enterprises for on-job training across the country.
He said: “The KP government introduces interventions that deliver market-driven solutions and boost youth’s employ-ability as well as private sector development in the region.”
“Tribal youth do not have many opportunities to acquire occupational skills. The Accelerated Skills Development Program is an effort to bridge that gap,” Kamran Bangash added.
He said the scheme will facilitate women and other marginalized groups in accessing opportunities to acquire skills. The Accelerated Skills Development Program will provide free trade and occupation skills in seven sectors – health, agriculture, tourism, information technology, construction, mines and minerals, and services. Courses have been designed to provide both theoretical and practical knowledge to the trainees, with 80% of the syllabi focused on hands-on learning, he further added.
The program, he said, would be implemented in both public and private training institutes that have modern equipment as well as a compatible training infrastructure for the relevant occupation.
To boost youth’s employ-ability with market-oriented skills, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government took the steps for launching a Rs1.4 billion worth development project with the name of “Accelerated Skills Development Program” for tribal districts, he concluded.
